


Operation Sweet Swan

by Swen and Chill (anotherouatwriter)



Series: Baby, it's cold outside. [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Emma sucks at cooking, F/F, and Regina helps her out, countdown to christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherouatwriter/pseuds/Swen%20and%20Chill
Summary: Emma bakes uneatable cookies. Henry feels bad about it but he doesn't know how to help. Luckily for him, Regina does.





	

Regina looked out of the window, hoping to enjoy the wintery sunrise as she prepared breakfast for her and Henry. She had to blink twice and shake her head to make sure that she was not hallucinating. Outside, it wasn’t just the sun rising, but another entity that brightened up her days: her son.  

Henry’s back was to her and he was throwing something out onto the frozen grass in the backyard. Her eyebrows furrowed, showing her confusion. Henry was not a morning person. Henry was not a person who enjoyed being outside when it was cold. So, why was Henry up and out?  

She tightened her robe around her and opened the back door.  

“Henry, dear!” she called him, “What on earth are you doing?”  

He looked sheepishly at her, “Feeding the birds.”  

She rolled her eyes, because only the grandson of Snow White would think it’s a good idea to feed the birds when it is freezing cold outside.  

“Come in, Henry,” Regina motioned to the door, “It’s cold. You can feed the birds later.”  

“I can’t. Emma is coming over later.”  

“I’m sure she won’t mind. She’s probably used to this bird affection by now.”  

He exhaled deeply before saying, “I’m feeding them Emma’s cookies.” He had such a guilty expression on his face.   

The brunette didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just let an “Oh.” out.  

“It’s just…” he scratched his head. “She was making them yesterday, and she was so happy. And then, when we tasted them, they were pretty bad,” Henry started explaining. “Emma looked so sad that I pretended I liked them, and I took them all. But I can’t eat them! I’m going to break my teeth and there’s no dentist in Storybrooke, and we all know that I can’t wish a broken tooth away!” the kid continued rambling, “I thought about throwing them away, but Emma is spending more time here and I can’t risk her seeing them. I thought of the idea feeding them to the birds, so I could get rid of the evidence.”  

She smiled at her son and started walking towards him, her slippers getting wet from the morning frost, “That’s very sweet of you, Henry. But not a good reason to catch a cold.” She extended a hand, silently asking Henry to give him some of Emma’s cookies, “I’ll help, and then, I’ll teach Emma how to make cookies.”  

“Please don’t tell her I told you that they taste really bad,” Henry pleaded, “That would destroy her.”  

Regina started crumbling the hard cookies, using a bit of magic to make the task easier, “Don’t worry Henry, I’ve got a plan.”  

“Operation Sweet Swan?” Henry suggested with a smile that shone brighter than the sun.  

The brunette nodded, “Operation Sweet Swan.”  

After getting rid of all of Emma’s rock-hard cookies, the Millses entered the mansion with a silent agreement of keeping their silence of what they did. They worked around the kitchen with ease, Henry setting the table on the kitchen island and Regina making the pancakes.  

It was not much later when the doorbell rang. Henry looked at his mom pointedly and muttered “Not a single word!” before running to the door.  

Even though she wasn’t invited for breakfast, and even though she ate at the loft, Emma sat with the two Millses and eat breakfast with them.  

“You’re going to get fat,” Henry pointed out and Regina was quick to scold him.  

“There are worse things in life than being fat, Henry. We do not shame people because of the body weight.”  

“I know, I’m sorry.” he apologized, “But you’re always complaining that Ma eats like a child.”  

“But it’s because I care about her health - mostly her heart, not about her being fat or not.”  

Emma blushed at the comment, even though she knew Regina didn’t mean that she cared about Emma’s heart the way she wanted it to mean. But she couldn’t stop her cheeks turning red nor her lips tugging into a smile.  

Emerald and coffee eyes made a short connection and Emma could feel her heart beating faster. She thought she had gotten over the little crush she had on Regina ever since she moved to Storybrooke. But, ever since she started spending more time with the brunette and their son, the feelings came back, tenfold.  

In fact, Emma was now sure that she was in love and Regina would be the only person who could ever take the place as Emma’s one true love - if that was what fate had planned for her.  

“Are you alright, Ma?” Henry questioned. “You’re turning red,” he pointed out and Emma felt her face get even warmer. She probably looked like a tomato.  

“Um, yeah. It’s just… hot… in here,” that was the lamest excuse Emma could come up with, but Henry seemed to buy it because he shrugged and kept on eating his pancakes.  

When the food was eaten and the dishes placed in the dishwasher, Henry excused himself and went up to his room to finish his homework. School was almost out for the winter break but they still had some projects to turn in.  

“Should I leave, or…?” Emma asked. Because, even though she had dinner with them four nights per week and breakfast on most Saturdays and Sundays, she still felt like she was intruding into Regina’s life and she didn’t want to overstay her welcome.  

“I was thinking about making some cookies. Henry usually helps me, but he has to finish whatever bird project your mother thought would be interesting for them. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to help?” Regina said casually as she slipped the apron over her head and tied it around her waist.  

Emma seemed insecure about helping Regina. And the brunette felt her uneasiness even though the savior did not say a word about it. Without asking Emma what was wrong, Regina grabbed an apron and handed it to Emma.  

“I’ve dealt with your cooking genes before, or did you forget the part where I told you that Henry helps?” she partially joked, looking straight into Emma’s eyes.  

The blonde nodded, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  

“Actually, you didn’t,” Regina pointed out and Emma must have found it funny because she let a laugh out.  

“Alright, let’s do this,” she readily agreed, grabbing the apron from Regina’s hand and put it on.  

It was shorter than Regina’s, so Emma deduced that it was probably Henry’s. And while Regina’s was a typical apron, Emma’s apron had a “Messy but cute” phrase on it - it was definitely Henry’s apron.  

Emma followed Regina’s orders to a tee. She didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Regina. Regina - the mother of her child, the most perfect person on Earth, the love of her life.  

She still managed to get some flour on her cheek while she was mixing the dry ingredients, and some cookie dough on her hair while she was scooping the dough. But overall, Emma was proud she didn’t completely fuck it up.  

“And now, we wait,” Regina commented as she placed the trays into the preheated oven and set the timer to 10 minutes.  

When the brunette turned around, she found Emma looking at her, with her face and her hair messy and an adorable look on her face. It was getting warmer by the minute and Regina didn’t know if it was because she was standing close to the oven or if it was due to the intensity of Emma’s look.  

She was aware of the feelings that she was harboring towards Henry’s other mother ever since Emma broke up with Hook and started spending more time with them. Of course, the sexual tension was always there, from the first moment they saw each other. But, lust turned into love when they were not paying attention, or at least, in Regina’s case.  

Regina cleared her throat, trying to break the tension but it was all in vain as she commented, “That apron looks more appropriate on you than on Henry.”  

“You think I’m cute?” Emma whispered and took a step towards her.  

For a moment, Regina had to remind herself to breathe, “And messy.”  

“But, mostly cute, right?” Emma corrected, taking another step. She was now few centimeters away from Regina.  

Regina bit her lip and didn’t break the eye contact, “Maybe when you’re frustrated because Henry keeps beating you at Mario Kart. But in general, I don’t think you’re cute.” Emma lowered her face before Regina had time to finish, so the brunette raised the blonde’s chin up with her index finger, forcing the blonde to look at her, “In general, I think you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”  

Emma’s eyes teared up, making them seem as if they were shining. She didn’t say anything, she just snaked her arms around the brunette’s petite waist and pulled her closer. Their bodies collided and Emma rested her forehead against Regina’s, breathing in and savoring the moment before licking her lips and pressing them against Regina’s.  

Emma didn’t know how true love felt like, because she had never experienced it. But in that moment, she was pretty sure Regina tasted, felt, and smelled a lot like it.  

They didn’t break the kiss until Henry entered the kitchen commenting on how good the cookies smelled and then ran out as soon he saw his mothers. His yells echoed in the mansion on how traumatized he was and how much he would need therapy. Both rolled their eyes and scoffed at that declaration.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks, Chris, for being my beta :)


End file.
